A Rose is Still a Rose
by Lively Angel
Summary: River brings Rose back along with someone unexpected. This is a Rose/Doctor fic, let me know what you think. Slight spoiler for the ending of the first episode of Torchwood.
1. River!

**I don't know if I can write more of this or if anyone would even like to read more of this so I'm leaving this open, but this was just kind of a random idea I had. It's late so if there are any mistakes, let me know. I might come back later do edit this. Review!**

Sometimes, he goes back. He knows he shouldn't, but sometimes he sees a girl with short blonde hair run past him or he lands near the Powell Estate sometime after she'd left. But even though he knows that it's 2010 or 2015, he still thinks that if he walks up those steps and knocks on that door, it won't be the one woman with three cats and a cane who answers, it'll be her with that same tongue-touched smile.

He still sees her with her sympathetic eyes and open arms, gazing up at him with so much admiration and warmth. She's not embracing his double only a few steps away from him, she's embracing him. And her warm breath falls on his neck as do her tears. She's wearing that leather jacket that hugs her curves so well and he has his new body. He's shorter than he used to be and has a weakness for bowties instead of suits, but she doesn't mind. She still fits perfectly in his arms, and her hand still falls naturally into his.

She doesn't carry her own guns and she holds empathy for any living creature. She keeps him sane. He lays in his bed some nights imagining what it would be like if she herself could regenerate. Would he still love her if she no longer looked like Rose or acted exactly the same? If she lost that tongue-touched smile and soft blonde hair? He imagines if she were a ginger instead with green eyes and a craving for pears. He scowls, but nonetheless he would.

Because even if Rose no longer looked like Rose, she would still be his. She would still smell as sweet. Oh, Rassilon, he's sunk to the level of paraphrasing Shakespeare, now he knows he's in trouble. The Doctor sighs, and pushes his hair back before setting the TARDIS in motion. Maybe he would go watch Hamlet again.

Then the TARDIS trembles and River pops in from out of nowhere. Rory and Amy are on their honeymoon so she doesn't waste time asking where they are. Instead, her eyes sweep the room before settling on him. "Doctor, this was not my idea. You need to know that. It was an accident."

"What are you talking about, River?" he asks.

"I found a way into another universe," she says quickly. "It was just a little hole, no big deal. I thought I'd go in, check it out, maybe bring you back a souvenir. I didn't plan to bring her back and we couldn't go back through."

"What are you talking about, River?" he repeats, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Me," responds a feminine voice from behind him. "She's talking about me."

He turns, too stunned to speak. She stands there, young as ever with a time-vortex manipulator strapped on and another woman clutching her wrist. She's exactly the same and entirely different with longer brown hair and eyes that appear old in contrast to her unlined face. The Doctor can't take his eyes off of her.

"Hello," she says with the same tongue-touched smile. "It's me."

"Hello," he finds himself responding dumbly.

"Is this the brilliant Doctor you're always going on about?" the other woman asks. The Doctor turns his eyes to her. With dark brown eyes and hair cut into a pixie cut, she isn't too impressive. She is taller than him, though. "He looks boring," she sighs. "Who wears bowties anymore? And tweed?"

"Hey! Bowties are cool!" he protests.

She giggles. "Since when?"

"D. J., shush," Rose scolds her.

"Sorry," D. J. says, rolling her eyes. "Just being honest."

"Rude," Rose corrects. "You're being rude. Say something nice."

D. J. gives a long-suffering sigh in reply. "Fine. Cool spaceship, Bowtie Boy."

"Bowtie Boy?" the Doctor asks.

"That's the best you can get from Miss Sass," Rose says. "She never changes."

"Neither do you apparently," the Doctor remarks. "How long has it been?"

"Oh, twenty years or so," Rose says dismissively.

"Twenty?" the Doctor exclaims. "But you don't look a day over twenty-five!"

"If you need proof, just look at her," Rose says, pointing to D. J. "Twenty years old yesterday."

"What?" the Doctor stares at her.

"Hi, Dad. Sorry 'bout before, it was just a joke," D. J. grins at him. "Just call me Donna Jane!"

"Donna Jane?" the Doctor asks Rose. "Really?"

"Two of your favorite companions," Rose shrugs. "I couldn't resist. I thought it was a fitting tribute since you died a week before I gave birth."

"What?"

"He couldn't last without Donna, and you knew that. You just didn't know how long he would last. Donna was easier to figure out since she was human to begin with, but the clone was indeterminable since it had never happened before."

"You've figure all that out?" he notes.

"I've had to," she says. "Been Torchwood's unofficial scientific advisor for the past twenty years."

The Doctor grimaces and notices D. J. fiddling with the TARDIS controls. "Hey, don't touch those!"

She sticks her tongue out at him and he has an inkling of what it would be like to raise this girl. Besides being tall with many of his previous incarnation's features, she has Rose's cheekbones and an unusual fashion sense. She wears a pink sleeveless dress over ripped leggings and combat boots. Her wrists are covered in bangles. Over her arm, she carries a trench coat similar to the one he used to wear.

"So, what about your mum, Pete, and Tony?"

"Mum and Dad died last year in a car crash," Rose frowns and looks away. "Tony moved to Scotland last month and I haven't talked to him since. He and I don't get along much because of the whole no aging thing. Keeps saying he can't be around something so unnatural."

The Doctor winces and takes her hand. "How did River find you?"

"She saved our lives. She was in our universe for a few days. When she was ready to come back, she wasn't expecting us to hitch a ride. She took us right to Jack in this universe's Torchwood. I swiped Jack's vortex manipulator and fixed it before I copied the coordinates I saw River set in hers. She didn't notice until she pressed the button to leave."

"Clever," the Doctor grins with pride.

"More like reckless," River says, speaking up for the first time. "How could you be so sure you wouldn't get stuck?"

"The other universe is more advanced."

"Mum's a genius with this kind of tech," D. J. brags. "When we still had our TARDIS, Mum repaired it like a pro."

"Only because your father taught me what he could in the time he had left," Rose explains. "That man never slept! Kept a notebook next to the bed just to jot down the stuff he didn't get to that day."

"You grew a TARDIS?" the Doctor asks excitedly.

"Yeah, but we ran into some trouble and she's gone now," Rose says sadly, running a hand along the console.

"Mum, it wasn't your fault," D. J. Insists. "That thing ate it."

"Yeah, I know," Rose sighs. "And please don't ask, Doctor. It's not something I like to remember,"

"Fine," he concedes, wrapping his arm around her middle. Rose rests her head against his chest. "How about some lunch then?"

"Brilliant!" D. J. shouts as if nothing had happened before sprinting down one of the hallways.

"I always wonder how she turned out so much like you," Rose says, taking his hand in hers and allowing him to lead her down the same hallways.

D. J. comes running back to them. "I just realized I don't know my way around this place! Oh, well, guess I'll just keep looking." And she is off again.

"That's just like her," Rose says fondly. "She used to get lost all the time when she was little. Always late coming home for dinner. Remind you of anyone?"

"I never got lost," he pouts. "And I was never," she clears her throat, "seldom," here she sends him a pointed look, "often late."

"Was he ever twelve years late?" River asks from behind them. "He made Amy wait twelve years after making a crash landing in her yard in the middle of the night."

"I was regenerating!"

"You destroyed her shed and everyone thought she was mad!"

"You left a little girl waiting twelve years? And I thought it was bad enough when Mickey was nearly arrested for killing me," Rose laughs. "He let me run home thinking I'd only been gone twelve hours, when really it was twelve months! Nearly drove my mother spare and they had my boyfriend taken in for questioning!"

River laughs with her and the Doctor feels the heat rise in his cheeks. "Still saved the world, didn't I?" he mumbles.

That only makes them laugh harder.

"What's so funny?" D. J. asks, coming back down the hallway after checking the rooms for the kitchen.

"Just bad timing," River gasps, still trying to catch her breath. "Did you find the kitchen?"

"No, but there's this really cool wardrobe full of great clothes," D. J. says excitedly.

"You're wearing my leather jacket," he remarks.

"Yeah, I would've taken the colorful coat but I like this one better."

"D. J., don't just take things that don't belong to you!" Rose says.

"But this ship doesn't belong to him, and he's my dad so doesn't that mean I can wear his clothes?"

"Go ahead," the Doctor finally shrugs. "I never wear it anymore, anyway. So, who's up for some fish custard?" he asks, throwing open the nearest door D. J. hadn't checked to reveal the kitchen.

"Fish?" D. J. asks, wrinkling her nose. "Ugh."

"Tell me about it," River agrees. "It's all he eats, fish fingers with custard. Can't stand apples or beans... Wasted half the food in Amy's home forcing her to find something he liked."

"Still like bananas and jam though, right?" Rose asks.

He shifts on his feet and reaches into one of the cabinets to pull out a bowl of custard with a plate of fish fingers ready to eat. "I actually don't think I've eaten any since you left."

"And how long ago was that for you?" Rose asks.

"Few years," he shrugs, looking distinctly uncomfortable.

"Is no one going to ask how the food is ready?" D. J. blurts out.

"She has it ready for me whenever I'm in the mood to eat."

"Can I get some pizza?" D. J. asks.

The Doctor nods. "Just tell her what toppings you want."

"Pineapple," she says quickly.

He reaches into the cabinet and pulls out the pizza she'd wanted.

"You're a doll," D. J. tells the ceiling of the TARDIS before leaving them all alone in the room.

"Is she going to eat all of that?" River asks.

"I don't think so," Rose says suspiciously.

"Well, I'm sure she just plans to save the rest for later," the Doctor reassures her.

"She doesn't like to waste food," Rose mutters.

"If the Doctor thinks it's nothing then it's probably nothing," River sighs.

"You're right," Rose says, allowing herself to relax and take a seat at the table across from River. There were six seats at the table in total with two on either side. The Doctor sat beside Rose. "I should put more trust in her."

River leans her cheek into her hand and smirks at the two of them. "I do love seeing you both together. Almost as much as I love tricking the Doctor into thinking we're married."

"What?" the Doctor asks.

River chuckles. "Sorry, I've only just helped you deal with the Pandorica. But I must have really teased you after that. Or before, depending on how you look at it."

"We're not married?" the Doctor asks.

"Sorry, sweetie, I'm taken," she says with a grin and a flash of her ring. "And she's all the Time Lady I need."

"What?" Rose asks.

"That's for me to know, and you to have fun finding out," she says with a wink.

"You're married to a Time Lady?"

"Keep up," River frowns. "Ally and I have been married for thirty years."

"Ally?" the Doctor asks.

"And this is when I take my exit," River says, standing and pressing the buttons on her vortex manipulator. "Bye, Mum and Dad," she says, blowing them a kiss before pressing the last button.

Leaving them in complete and utter shock.

"She's not supposed to tell us anything," the Doctor says, breaking the silence. "That was a spoiler."

"Are you sure?" Rose snarks.

"Now is not the time for sarcasm," the Doctor says, pointing at her. "Now that she's gone, we need to talk."

"About what's?" Rose asks.

"About... What happened."

"You mean when you left me with your clone?" Rose asks. "I already yelled at him for it. Pregnancy hormones and all that. And I've spent years arguing with you about it in my head. You told me about River. You told me how guilty you must have felt leaving me behind."

"And?" he prompts.

"I forgave you," she says, taking a fish finger and biting into it.

"You forgave me?" he asks incredulously.

"What was I supposed to do? Cry about it for the rest of my life? I may still look this young, but I'm not that silly little shopgirl who took your hand and followed you everywhere."

"What have you been doing?" he asks.

"Working for Torchwood, traveling the universe." she frowns. "Until the Tyler TARDIS was eaten anyway."

"Tyler TARDIS?" he asks, lips twitching into a tentative smile.

"D. J. wanted to call it that," Rose says, grinning. "She wanted a name that would say it was ours and we were starting our own adventures as the last of the Tylers."

"The Tyler TARDIS," he says it again thoughtfully. "I like it. So what happened to it?"

"We were stuck on some kind of asteroid that fed on artron energy. Would have fed on me too if River hadn't made it in time. She took us back to Torchwood and stayed with us for a few days."

"It's great that she saved your life, but I'm sorry about your TARDIS," he says sympathetically.

"It's alright, because I got to see you both again," Rose says. The TARDIS hums pleasantly around them. "And you can stop feeling guilty, Doctor."

"It's fine now. It's like you said: Rose and the Doctor traveling in the TARDIS is just how it was meant to be." He takes a fish finger and dips it in the custard.

Rose wrinkles her nose. "I think you've gotten a little odder since I left."

"No, try it! It's good, I swear."

She does. "It's not bad, but it could take some getting used to."

He looks at her with eyes narrow with fondness before leaning forward and kissing her chastely on the lips.

"That could, too," she says shyly. "Bullocks, it's been years since I've kissed anyone! D. J.'s all I've been able to focus on."

"It must have been difficult raising her alone."

"I had Mum. She helped a lot. The job at Torchwood was a blessing because that's what paid for her education."

"What subjects does she like best?" the Doctor asks.

"What subjects do you think? Science and literature, and she loves art!" It is now that Rose happens to look down at her wrist and freezes. "Doctor, D. J. doesn't know her way around this TARDIS."

"No, she mentioned that before."

"And my vortex manipulator is gone."

He looks at her hands. "I suppose it is."

"We need to get to Cardiff."

"So D. J. likes Jack?" he asks her, pulling the lever to materialize.

"D. J. has a thing for Jack," Rose corrects. "She may have a bit of a hero complex. She saves them before falling for them. It's happened before; it happened with her first boyfriend. We stayed with Jack for a few days in Torchwood after she saved him from a Weavel."

"Weavel?"

"It's what Jack calls them," Rose answers, heading for the door. "Coming?"

"Just grabbing something from the console. There! Come along, Tyler," he commands cheerfully, grabbing her hand as he walks past.

But she pulls him back to her for a peck on the lips. It nearly deepens into something else but Rose pulls away before he can push any farther. "It's Rose, you daft alien, not Tyler."

"Yes, ma'am," he replies slightly dazed before pulling the door open and allowing her through first.

But once she is through, all humor is lost.

Two women are dead and Jack is holding one in his lap, crying genuine tears of sadness. He looks at Rose desperately. "It's not too late! We can still call someone."

"Jack, get away from her," Rose hisses.

"I'm so sorry, Rose."

"Get away from her, do not touch her," Rose's eyes turn to the brunette standing frozen on the side. "Get over here and tell me what happened."

So, they do. They tell her about what happened with Suzie and how she killed people only to bring them to life for just a few minutes. They tell her about D. J. appearing out of nowhere only to jump in front of Jack and take the shot meant for him. Jack was shot a moment later, but he came back to life in just as much time.

"I'm sorry about this, Jack," Rose apologizes. "For making you live this long and leaving you behind you like that. Don't look behind you."

Still Jack feels the burst of energy behind him and turns to stare in awe at the new man standing before him. And yes, it is a man. With curly blonde hair, silver eyes, pouty lips, and a lanky form, a rather attractive man. "D. J. ?" he asks.

"At your service," the man replies in a deeper tone that obviously disturbs him. "Why does my voice sound weird?"

"D. J., you've regenerated again, dear," Rose tells him.

"Oh, lovely, I'm a man again. Hello, Jack. In all the excitement I didn't get to say that," D. J. says, grinning playfully. "And it's too bad I dropped the pizza."

"Hello," Jack says in only that way he can with his eyes taking in D. J.'s new form. He isn't any older, but his mannerisms have changed. Oddly he wears the dress with torn leggings and leather jacket as naturally as before. "There's a pub down the street. After you took that bullet for me, I think you could use a drink."

"This doesn't have anything to do with me growing a pair, does it?" D. J. whispers jokingly.

Jack laughs and wraps an arm through one of D. J.'s. "Nope, I always thought you were this sexy," he whispers back.

"Well, then, I really could use a drink," D. J. says brightly. "But I could also use a change of clothes. Balls and leggings do not go together."

Jack chuckles. "I hear ya, I'll wait out here. Unless you need help of course, new body and all."

"I've regenerated before Jack. This is the second time I've been a man."

"Really?" Jack asks, surprised.

"I've regenerated three times, and it never gets easier."

"Three times?" the Doctor asks, finally getting over the shock.

"Yeah, fourth body, never expected that last one to last so long. Ten years, a new record." D. J. leaves the two men in shock before leaving for the wardrobe.

The Doctor turns to Rose. "You didn't tell me D. J. was a Time Lord!"

"I didn't think she would regenerate so soon!" Rose yells.

"It still would've been nice if you'd mentioned that she could regenerate at all! How is he a Time Lord when my clone was a human with only the mind of a Time Lord?"

"D. J. was born with your Time Lord genes and I'm still the Bad Wolf, Doctor, so the Time Lord genes didn't stay dormant. She was three years old when she regenerated for the first time into a boy. It was awful trying to explain to my mum at dinner that night."

"You raised a Time Lord," the Doctor said, in awe now. "Without any help."

"That's not true," Rose murmurs. "I had my mum. And you taught me plenty about the kinds of trouble Time Lords can get into." This she says, with a smile, poking her tongue out at him.

"So, this is the way it's going to be?" Jack asks exasperated. "You two in your own little world again?"

"Shut up, and just be glad I haven't said anything about you taking my son out for a drink," Rose growls. "I'm not too old to forget what a drink with Jack Harkness means."

"So, you never forgot, huh?" Jack asks, smirking.

"Keep your hands and lips to yourself," Rose instructs. "If you touch hm, there had better be a ring on his finger by morning."

Jack stares. "Well, you've changed."

"I've raised a rebellious Time Lord," Rose corrects with a sigh. "Look, I just worry about him, Jack. Take him out, have a good time, but treat him with respect."

"Yes, ma'am," Jack says with a salute.

"What are you saluting for?" D. J. asks, taking a step out of the TARDIS in his new outfit. He wears the same leather jacket with dark wash jeans, combat boots, and a turtle neck. The only thing out of place was the Stetson on his head.

"Hey, you took my hat!" the Doctor protests.

"It looks better on me, anyway."

"You look ridiculous," Rose says, before pulling him down to her height for a kiss on the cheek. "Don't have too much fun."

"Yes, Mum," D. J. says.

"Call when you need us to pick you up."

"I know, Mum," he says.

"I know I probably sound overprotective."

"It's fine, Mum. Have fun with Dad. Go explore the universe. Relax for once."

"You never change, even when you do," Rose says fondly. "How do you feel? Are you sure you don't need a cuppa before you go?"

"No, Mum, now go!"

"Okay, okay," Rose says. "Bye, Jack. See you sooner or later."

"Bye, Rosie, bring me back a souvenir."

"Only if you're good."

"Well, then never mind," he jokes.

"Bye, Jack," the Doctor says, following Rose in and shutting the door behind them. "Are you sure it's such a good idea leaving those two alone together?"

"This isn't his first time on a date, Doctor," Rose says, setting some coordinates on the console.

"Where are you taking us?" he asks, taken off guard.

"It's a surprise," Rose says, brightly.

They make an unusually safe landing on the sand of a familiar beach in Norway. Rose blindfolds the Doctor and leads him closer to the water. He can smell the sea and hear the waves crash against the shore. The sun is low on the horizon, he assumes because he can't feel it bearing down on him. Rose's warm hand clasps his.

They stop.

He can feel the wind, pushing the hair away from his face as she unties the blindfold and steps away. She is just as beautiful as she'd been that time before with tears shining in her eyes, older eyes but still just as lovely. "When I was here in that other universe, you cheated me out of hearing those words. I forgave you, but you still owe them to me."

"Rose..."

"No, I am not going to stand here, and let you get away again! Every time, we've come to this place, you've left me. I've told you I love you and I forgive you, but you've never said you loved me back or even apologized. Doctor, I love you, and I could wait forever for you to say it back, but I'm not going to."

"What?"

"Doctor, without those words, it doesn't feel real. It feels like you could just leave me here again, anytime something goes even a little pear-shaped. How can I be sure you won't do that just because you want to protect me? If you say those words, you know you couldn't let yourself do that again. That's why I want to start this off right, I need to know that you won't keep treating me as the little human companion who needs to be kept safe."

The Doctor swallows to get past the lump in his throat. She isn't wrong.

She is looking at him with the same shining eyes she'd shown him that day. "I love you."

"Quite right, too," he says nervously, looking away from her. Seeing the waves, he realises there was no escape. He doesn't have the excuse of a time limit or a clone. It's just them, the TARDIS, and the sea. "Rose Tyler, I..."

He meets her eyes again and by the way they dart between him and the TARDIS, he can tell what she expects him to do. The doors are wide open, and for a brief, mad second, he thinks of just sprinting inside. But instead he takes her hand and finishes the sentence.

"I love you, too."

She pulls him into their first real embrace since she'd made it back. His arms encircle her waist and her hands are in his hair. He can feel her breath and warm tears on his neck just as he'd imagined. She pulls back only to press her lips to his. The kiss sends sparks down her spine where his fingers are splayed. His own hearts are beating twice as fast. It isn't long before her legs are wrapped around his waist and he is carrying her back through the open TARDIS doors, back to his bedroom.


	2. Dads and Paradoxes

She fits in his arms as he's always imagined she would. His shorter stature only means she strains her neck less to kiss him. She doesn't take the time to admire his room or comment on the door with the rose engraved on it across the hall. She is too preoccupied with his aggressive kisses to care. He grinds his hips into hers and she gasps. He grins teasingly against her lips and does it again deliberately. She retaliates by bending down to nibble his neck.

He groans and let's her fall back on to the bed before climbing on top of her.

She's beautiful underneath him, with her blonde hair fanned out across his navy sheets. Her pupils are blown wide with arousal, her cheeks are pink, and she's panting lightly. Due to his respiratory bypass, he doesn't have to. She knows that and glares up at him before flipping them both over and undoing his bowtie with dexterous fingers and a mischievous grin.

Her fingers work through the buttons of his shirt with less effort and her fingers are flat against his abdomen in no time at all. There's a moment where she pauses with her hands over his hearts and she frowns before smiling sadly up at him. His eyes ask the question for him. She answers with a kiss over the heart on the right side of his chest, the heart that doesn't belong.

Her kisses trail fire back up his neck and she presses one chastely to his lips before taking off her tank top. His hands reach up to her breasts but she pushes them back down into the bed and shakes her head at him.

She needs this and he can tell.

Her lips are back on the left side of his chest, over his left heart and he gasps when she scrapes her teeth lightly over his nipple on the way down. She flicks her tongue over it and continues. When she reaches his navel, she unzips his trousers and pulls down his trousers and his pants which he kick off before she takes him into her mouth. He's harder than he's ever been in his life and the warmth of her tongue is a welcome change from his hand. She lets him go and he nearly whines in protest until he feels her tongue along the underside of his cock. It isn't as sudden as her mouth, it's slow torture.

She holds down his hips as she licks around the head and pulls him back into her mouth slowly. He feels her pull him deeper and deeper and he has to close his eyes to keep from thrashing or giving in and cumming. And then she looks up at him from under her eyelashes and smiles like she knows. Dammit, of course she knows!

He can feel her hair falling across his thighs and feel her humming around his cock. The respiratory bypass wouldn't do him much good for long. And then she lets him go, stands up, and takes off her jeans and knickers. When she's on top of him again, she takes him into her wet heat and they both moan in relief. Rose bends over him and leads him into another kiss, this one deeper and more meaningful than the rest they'd shared.

"I missed you," she whispers as he slowly thrusts up into her. Neither of them have moved yet, both holding themselves back. "I still remember doing this with him. I loved him, I really did, but I always wondered if it was the same..."

The Doctor puts a finger to her lips and shushes her before pushing her back gently onto the bed and replacing his finger with his lips. He reaches behind her to unclasp her bra. He can tell she's self-conscious by the flush of her cheeks, but he reassures her by kissing the center of her chest and trailing kisses light kisses the way she had. Only, he nearly worships each of them rather than kissing them passingly. The taste of her skin on his tongue is addicting. Their movements are a little jerky and awkward in the beginning but eventually they find their rhythm. Before they know it, they're lost in the seemingly endless movements and words of love and desire. By the end of it all, Rose is back on top of him and all of the movement stops, the words end with Rose's heat tightening around him.

The Doctor feels himself reaching his own climax as he reaches between her legs and rubs that sensitive little bundle of nerves that has her falling to pieces and calling his name. He empties himself inside her and she falls to his chest tired and content.

"I love you," she says in the end. "I know you won't always be ready to say it back, but you should know that. I didn't say it to him as much as I could have. You could live for thousands of more years, but you'll die just as surely as he did, so you should know someone loves you. Two hearts can stop just as surely as one can."

"Thank you," he says softly. "I love you, too."

She presses last kiss to the center of his chest before they fall asleep to gentle dreams.

Rose wakes to a call from D. J. telling her the coordinates for the pub Jack had taken him to. They meet the two out front and Jack takes the Doctor's hand and pulls him into a hug. "Things were so hectic earlier, I didn't get to do that. D. J. helped Gwen and I store the body before I took him out for that drink. I gotta say, you don't look that surprised to see me."

"That's because I'm not supposed to see you yet," the Doctor groans. "Rose was just worried about D. J. She's not supposed to be here. Neither of them are. This is just one, huge paradox! You're not supposed to see me again for months, Gwen's not supposed to meet me for another two years! This is just one, huge, bloody disaster!"

"Relax, Doctor," Rose says. "We're all still here, that's a good sign, right? As long as Jack goes on with his life as it is everything should be fine."

"Dad, you could let me stay and help him," D. J. says. "He's been telling me how long it's taken to find you and he needs a Time Lord to stay and tell him what he needs to do! I know about sensitive points in time and how important it is to preserve the timelines!"

The Doctor looks at Rose in surprise. "You've taught him about the timelines?"

"You taught him," Rose says, pointing at him. "You left me a journal and told me to give it to him when he turned eight. I don't know anything about this."

The Doctor looks back at D. J. .and places a hand on his shoulder. "You can't come with him the first time he meets the old me."

"Okay," D. J. nods with the most sincere expression the Doctor has seen on him yet.

"You can't be here at all when the planets start to disappear," the Doctor continues.

"But that's when you and Mum were separated," he speaks up. "She told me about that! How can you expect me not to–"

"D. J., that has to happen," Rose says gently. "We've already messed with the timelines enough. Jack, do you still have the retcon?"

"Ready and waiting," he replies with a wink.

"Good, use it. Forget we were ever here. Give it to Gwen too while you're at it. And D. J. try to stay out of the news while you're here, dear."

"It's not my fault I have your good looks," he says cheekily before giving her a kiss. "See you whenever?"

"Wherever," she answers. "And stay out of trouble. The next time I see you, there had better not be a curl out of place!"

He pats his own head and grins. "You like the hair then?"

"It's lovely, almost like your father's used to look in his third body."

"Hey!" the Doctor calls. "How do you know about that?"

"The TARDIS used to show me images of your old regenerations, didn't I ever mention it?" Rose says, knowing full well she hadn't.

"You should show me those sometime," Jack says.

"Not gonna happen," the Doctor mumbled. "Go choke on your retcon. Rose, we have to go soon. We have a lovely couple I'd like you to meet and New Year's is on the horizon!"

"No, it's not," Rose laughs. "Is it, Jack?"

"No, but he cheats and jumps ahead to the good parts or flips back to them."

"That's true."

"By the way," the Doctor starts. "How does Rose know about retcon?"

"I was going to give it to her before sending her back," Jack replies, looking ashamed. "Hell, I was going to slip it into her drink when she got away. Where is my vortex manipulator anyway?"

"D. J. stole it from me," Rose says. "He's a natural pickpocket."

"Is he now?" Jack asks with interest.

"You had your drink. Go home, take the retcon, and go to sleep. Alone. Call me to pick you up when the Daleks come, D. J."

"Got it, love you. Bye, Dad."

"Bye, D. J."

As soon as Rose is back in the TARDIS, the Doctor starts putting in the coordinates for their next location. She sits on the edge of the console and watches him mess with the controls and press the occasional button without a glance her way. "What's wrong?"

"...I'm a father," he states plainly. Her face falls and he is quick to leave the controls and wrap his arms around her. "No, I don't mean being a father is a problem! I've always wished for another family!"

"But?"

The Doctor continues to hold her but he can feel her start to tremble. "I... Don't know him. And maybe it takes time for some connection to happen, but he's supposed to be my son and he's twenty years old! I never got to hold him or teach him about the timelines. I never got to tell him stories about my adventures, my companions, our family on Gallifrey."

"You can tell him all about it now," Rose manages to choke out. "Or later. I just wish you could have done all that from the beginning! That he could have done it all."

He can feel her shaking getting worse so he holds her tighter. "Shush, I know, love. But what matters is I'm here now, for you and for him. It's just going to take some getting used to, that word."

"What word?"

"Dad."

That has her giggling into his shoulder. "He has your DNA and what scares you is the word 'dad'?"

"The last time anyone thought of me as family, they called me Grandfather."

"Susan," Rose says sympathetically.

"The TARDIS told you about her, too?"

"She sort of told me about everyone," Rose says sheepishly. "Sorry."

"No, it's fine. It's not a sad story. She grew up, left me with Ian and Barbara, and got married."

"Doctor," Rose says. Now it is her turn to wrap her arms around him. "You wanted her to be happy so you left her."

"She was happy," he insists. "She got married, had two children, and died peacefully in her sleep."

"You're lying," Rose challenges. "You never checked."

"No, I didn't. But I'm sure she was happy. I did see her one more time after that and she seemed fine. Mind you, it wasn't under the best circumstances: five Doctors saving Gallifrey with the help of their companions."

"There were five of you?" Rose asks.

"Oh, yes. Would you like to heat the story?"

"Let me just get the fish custard," Rose says, getting back on her feet. "What's a good story without some snacks?"


End file.
